I'm admit to having lost some interest in politics since Obama was voted in -- I think, like a lot of people, I concentrate and function better when there's a clearly-defined nemesis involved, but this Obama administration -- it's like a bad horror movie where the villain is an ideology instead of a boogeyman. We need our boogeymen, damnit, and for all the apparent fumbling of the Democratic party over the last year (if that is, indeed, the case -- last I heard, the economy in the 4th quarter had the fastest rate of growth in 6 years), no one from the GOP has reared their head long enough for Obama to take a swipe at it.

The point is, I've become a bad citizen. I tried to follow the health care issue for a while -- at some point, Obama said we'd have a bill by Christmas Eve, and now my understanding is that it's practically dead, thanks to Scott Brown, who apparently won because his opponent didn't know who Curt Schilling pitched for. Politics! Truthfully, I haven't even watched much of "The Daily Show," lately -- not because Stewart isn't as sharp as ever, but because he doesn't have a particularly good nemesis right now, which explains why The Bush Administration still preoccupies a lot of his time.

But, Stewart's appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor" was enough to stoke the flames of my civic interest, for a few minutes, anyway. It's a two part interview; the other half will run tonight, but below is the first half (in two parts). It's certainly a different dynamic when Stewart comes on his show, rather than vice versa. At times, I can't tell if Bill O'Reilly is being patronizing, or if he normally talks like a condescending simpleton. There weren't a lot of fireworks (O'Reilly's appearances on Letterman were far more dramatic), but it does pick up some momentum near the end, which at least promises a more exciting part two. I hope. Stewart seems fairly reserved, or either he's being respectful of his host and has decided not to go off on him on his own show, 'cause that would be impolite: